tonight

I've been playing around with new born pictures and photo programs today, so that is why I have this collage but it's also to share that Ava gave her first laugh on Monday and on Tuesday she did two more!

Ava is so sweet. When I go to pick her up first thing in the morning, at first sight of me, her smile beams out so huge, I think she's about to burst. I know my heart is.

Tonight, Brandon isn't feeling well, infact, has a fever and I think he must be feeling pretty awful because he just wants me to hold him. I've already been in his room 3 times in 4 hours just holding him for a couple of minutes. It's so sweet. I hate that he feels bad, but I feel the sweetness of holding my little boy in my arms for just a few moments of quiet snuggles. Yesterday, he received two packages. One from his cousin, Isabella, who stayed with us after Ava was born. And the 2nd one was a package I ordered off of e-bay. He opened the package from Ava and just about jumped out of his skin with excitement. It was a lightning mcqueen tshirt and jacket. He immediately put on the tshirt yesterday evening and hasn't taken it off for bed, or all day today, or even for bed tonight. Since he isn't feeling well, I decided not to fight it. He loves it!

The 2nd package I opened after he went to bed and lined up the characters along the tv stand. When Brandon came out this morning, it only took 2 seconds before he spotted the characters from Madagascar 2 lined up. They are used Mcdonald toys that came in Happy Meals, but someone collected them all and sold it on ebay. All day he has played with them, particularly, Alex the Lion and Marty the Zebra. He has them chasing each other around as it is one of his favorite scenes in the 1st Madagascar movie. So tonight when he was not feeling well, he was laying in my arms, holding Alex the Lion tightly in one fist. When I left the room to grab his medicine, he sat next to Ava and placed Alex and Marty on the chest of Ava. He wanted her to play with them. So sweet.

and we really are back...

 Can I just say that it was a good feeling to start and finish a project?  This year has felt like a lot of things started...but not so many things finished.  Not only was making Brandon's Max costume fun it felt good to accomplish something.  It made me hopeful that life was getting beyond feeling tired (because of pregnancy), being tired (because of two little ones) and thinking tired would always be my normal state (because I stay up way way too late).  I love being a mom and I love hanging out with Ava and Brandon and I would never change that.  But I, also, love creating, serving, cooking (though that never did stop), blogging (ha, ha!) and so many other things that I did when my time was completely my own.  It's coming back, the control over my time, even if the time is in one hour increments.   Now, if only I could fit in a workout in one of those increments...

All about Ava

Ava was born a week early at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.  My mom and brother arrived at our apartment at 11 p.m. and I left for the hospital at 4 a.m.  and she was born at 7:20 a.m.  Great timing!  

Ava Youmee Todd

7 lb 6 oz, 20 inches

August 28, 2009 

7:20 a.m.

When we were thinking of a name for Brandon, we came across the name of Ava and I liked the name enough to think that it would be a contender when we had the need for a girl's name.  It's short, simple and sweet.  Ava's middle name comes from my twin's Korean name.  My twin, Youmee, passed away when we were 2 and a half years old in Korea, right before my parents and I immigrated to the United States.  It never occurred to me to use my twin's name until I was about 7 months along...and after that Ava Youmee just seemed right.  We never considered anything else. 

She was a very easy and pleasant newborn.  And she is still super pleasant and so so easy at 11 weeks.    At about 6 weeks, she started truly smiling and cooing/talking and she hasn't stopped!  Brandon adores her and she seems to love to watch him.  Last night, she slept a record 12.5 hours!  When I went in to get her, she gave me THE BEST SMILE.  It's hard to tell personality yet, but I think she will be a talker.

• One Month Stats: 9 lbs 5 oz, 21.5 inches 
  
• Two Month Stats: 10 lbs 8 oz, 23 inches
  

(Just for fun - Brandon weighed 6 lb 15 oz, 19 inches at birth; 2 months - 13 lbs 4 oz, 23.5 inches)

getting burped by dad

cute litte face

sleeping sweetly at home and in the stroller

Ava and Brandon

when brandon is around, ava will just stare at him intently, it's so fun to see

catching her smile on camera

ava's funny expressions

spending a lot of time in the stroller is ava's way of being part of the fun

And we're back...

After a YEARLONG furlough from blogging, we are back.  During the time we were gone we went to South America, the Bahamas, moved apartments, changed jobs and had a baby.  

So, that is my excuse.  

We started with a Halloween post, so check that out.  But, we need to introduce Miss Ava. We'll be posting some pics from her birth to now in the next few days.  She is 10 weeks old!  

Here is a teaser - 3 pics from tonight 

Chilling with her older brother

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

Brandon as Max from the book, Where the Wild Things Are.  He had just woken up from a nap so he had the right grumpy look of Max.  

On our way to the Fall Fest, we saw the inspiration for the costume.  Brandon loves the book and we read it almost every night and he roars his terrible roar and shows his terrible claws!  

Fall Fest

The fox tail that Ryan and Brandon picked up that morning up in the Bronx.  Brandon loves riding the subway these days, so happy was he to take that ride.  

We trick or treated along 69th street, our old stomping grounds.  Brandon quickly understood the whole "free" candy thing.

Friends of Max...

Trick or treating along the stores...

Yes, Ava was there - asleep most the night in the back of the stroller.

Taking a quick pick of Ava at the end of the night...

Where the Wild Things Are

The night Max wore his wolf suir and made mischief of one kind and another. His mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything. That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew - and grew until his ceiling hung with vines all the walls became the world all around and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are.And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws til Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things. "And now," cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start!" "Now stop!" Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper.  

And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are. But the wild thing cried, "Oh please don't go- we'll eat you up-we love you so!" And Max said, "no!" The wild things they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.

The crocs are made for walking...

So with Summer almost here, and the playgrounds filled with water fun, we decided to get some crocs for Brandon.  His current sandals are great but they take forever to dry.  We have a huge croc store a couple of blocks from us so we went in for a look-see.  What we ended up with was the new color - NEON ORANGE - crocs.  Once again, this was Brandon's choice.  I tried to steer him to blue, green etc.  But, he picked these with a school bus and ambulance to attach to the toes.  

My kid and his bright shoe fetish.                                                                                                                  

Building his credit

This evening, Brandon and I were at a store on Columbus called Therapie.  It's kind of a drugstore/toy store.  I went in to grab some face lotion and thought it would be a nice time for Brandon to play with the train table, too.  While he was playing with the trains he went over to the Thomas the Train rack and pulled down a package of a new train that he doesn't have at home.  I could tell he wanted me to open it and I said,  "no," but he kept insisting.  Finally, I said, "Brandon, you can not open this package because you need to buy it first."  Then I turned to look at something else while he went back to the train table.  About 1 minute later, I look over to check on Brandon and I didn't see him, but I did hear him.  I look up and Brandon had walked up the stairs and to the check out counter and was waving his train at the check out lady.  He wanted to buy it!  Though it was an expensive train (as all Thomas paraphernalia is) I decided to buy it for him, just because he actually tried to do what I said.    Haha!

Cool Blue

Brandon loves these shoes.  He picked them out all by himself when we stopped by Macy's looking for a new pair of shoes.  He would not be deterred to any other pair.  He threw a fit if I tried to make him try on any other pair, but with these ones, he lifted each foot when I put them on.   At home, he often runs to the shoe rack and brings them to the living room and dances for joy with them in his outstretched arms.  When we need to go out, it's a breeze because he runs and grabs these shoes and helps me put them on him.  When he is wearing them, he prances and marches in them.  He LOVES the shoes.

What's this pink thing?

What's this pink thing?

It's pink and stretchy!

Oh....I think I finally understand...

I'm gonna have a little baby sister, she is supposed to arrive Sept 4th!

(my mom's  friend, Heather, sent these cute baby things - thank you!)